Drew Barrymore Dons Go-Go’s Cosplay to Induct New Wave Heroes Into Rock Hall of Fame

Drew Barrymore inducted the Go-Go’s into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 30th. A life-long fan of the group, Drew Barrymore even dressed up as the cover of Beauty and the Beat to induct the band.

The Go-Go’s were the first all-female band to have a Number One album in the Billboard 200 when Beauty and the Beat climbed to the top spot in 1982. The quintet — Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine, and Jane Wiedlin — also performed during the ceremony.

The actress first became a fan of the Go-Go’s as a child. “When I was about seven I discovered the Go-Go’s. I went out and bought their album Beauty and the Beat, and as the vinyl twirled, my whole world changed,” Barrymore said in an essay called “House Party.” “I stared at the girls on the cover like they were a gateway to cool. The fact that they were girls made me feel not only invited but more important — like I could be a badass too. I looked over to my Pippi Longstocking poster on the wall and thought, Yes, I like girls who rock!”

Schock told Fox News that Barrymore was a wise choice for their induction. “It’s so cool because Drew’s been a fan of this band since she was a kid. I remember when she was probably 10 or 11 years old and she was coming to our shows,” Schock said. “We would hang out with her backstage. It makes sense. I’m happy she’s inducting us.”

It’s such an honor, and honestly, it’s really easy to do because the Go-Go’s have been in my personal Hall of Fame since I was six years old. In fact, if you’d told tiny me that I’d be up here introducing my heroes into the most notable rock club in human history, I would say, “Well, I will do my best to honor these women.”

Do you remember the first record that you ever got? If you do, shout it out to me. OK, that’s good! Do you know what mine was? It was Beauty and the Beat. My very first record. It was debuted in 1981 and it has been said about love that if you can find a person who expands your world and makes it bigger and brighter then you’re lucky and hold on tight. And I think the exact same thing can be said about music. Beauty and the Beat blew the doors of my life off. It opened me up to a whole new dimension. I dropped the needle and I felt instantly connected to the punk pulse of this record. It sounded like pure possibility.

It rattled up my walls and straight through to my heart. I spent hours staring at that cover and the back side, all of them in the bathtub. The coolest girls in the world taking a spa day in cool-girl heaven. It was always a party, guys, for so long with these girls. They were crushing it with joy and exuberance and a total naturalness. I felt it in my bones. I sang along to “This Town” and I felt invited to the party and I loved that these girls were from my hometown.

I was a West Hollywood kid and the Go-Go’s were born out of L.A. punk. And they played their first show at Masque, in the basement of the Pussycat. Oh, yeah, if you were in L.A. in the Seventies, you knew what the Pussycat is. It’s an adult theater and it was just a stone’s throw away from my childhood bedroom. And it was in that bedroom that I wore that record out. And it took one album and I was hooked. I was gaga for the Go-Go’s. Their playfulness and their rebellious spirit. And, damn, their outfits! God, they were incredible! I mean, take one look at me in the Eighties and you’ll see where I got my inspiration. Imagine meeting Belinda Carlisle when you’re kind of dressed like a little, mini Belinda Carlisle and it was 1984 and you were just nine years old. Looking at my hero.

Just last night, I danced with my nine-year-old daughter Olive and her sister Frankie to “We Got the Beat” and I felt like my whole life came full-circle, knowing that I was coming here. I love that the next generation can soak up and sweat out all of this girl power that the Go-Go’s instilled in all of us. They changed my mind. They made me believe in things I didn’t think were possible. And tonight, we’re going to show them how they changed the world.

Forty years of making music, countless world tours, selling out eight shows at the Whiskey, playing the Bowl, the Garden, getting tanked and playing SNL for 60 million, opening for the Stones, influencing so many kick-ass fans to come. And that’s just a tiny sampler of this band’s legacy. And it doesn’t even touch what they muscled through in their wild chapters. And, trust me, I know a thing or two about wild chapters.

I always thought the Go-Go’s was such a perfect name. So full of kinetic energy. Their music and their spirit and mine, too. And you know what? You always have to just go for it. So I looked up the word “go” in the dictionary and there are so many definitions. “To move on a course.” …

My favorite definition of the word “go” is to proceed without delay. … Now that my childhood fantasy is fulfilled. … This is a true blue love letter from their biggest fan. From the first band I ever loved, here’s a look at the Go-Go’s.

@DrewBarrymore inducts The GoGos pic.twitter.com/3qSh93fuYa

— this guy (@steelrzfan2015) October 31, 2021